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Definition of loosen up in English:

loosen up

phrasal verb

‘Since the practice was held in Dalkey, a little less than 2 miles from the house, I decided to run there so I could loosen up and relax a bit.’

‘She took a few steps away from the others and then started doing a few exercises to loosen up her cramped muscles.’

‘While the rest of the Connecticut players merely loosen up, stretching the muscles used on their jump shots, Brown instantly goes to work.’

‘With no practice swings or loosening up the Fulford ace let fly, despite being racked by pain in his neck and shoulders.’

‘Stretching should always precede any form of exercise in order to warm and loosen up the muscles and to avoid injury.’

‘There he is, at the end of the runway, preparing, psyching, wobbling thighs, flexing fingers, loosening up, imagining his jump, imaging he's going to jump right out of the stadium.’

‘When you see a golfer taking a practice swing they are not just loosening up, they are telling their subconscious what they want to happen.’

‘The dancers and musicians loosened up for their collaboration through exercises such as call-and-response sessions, in which a musician would improvise a phrase and a dancer would respond with movement.’

‘When she got up out of bed and did some get exercising to loosen up, she started to get ready for the council that afternoon.’

‘First classes were for beginners and those present were introduced to the foundation exercises to allow body muscles to loosen up.’

‘While almost everyone else on the team is getting pounded through the course of a game, the kicker wanders the sideline in a clean uniform, occasionally loosening up by kicking balls into a net.’

‘Precede your weight training with a light whole-body cardio warm-up as usual, and do some light sets of the first exercise to loosen up your muscles.’

‘Golf is a game especially suited to loosening up, calming down and enjoying the company of friends in a leisurely landscape.’

‘He has been guarded and cautious in his tactics and his dealings with the press so far but perhaps next season, if he has graduated with honours, he will loosen up and begin to show how much he is enjoying life in Scotland.’

‘Gawky and terrified during her first attempt to dance, she gradually began to loosen up.’

‘Yet after he's got used to addressing 10,000 people he loosens up and gets right back into his lovable ‘isn't everything great?’’

‘If people do agree to be interviewed, they usually do so in a co-operative way and loosen up after initial anxiety about the microphone.’

‘As a blogger, I'd like to see him loosen up a bit: a few more shorter, less self-consciously ‘important’ pieces wouldn't go amiss.’

‘After a couple of pints we began to loosen up and we had a great night talking rubbish and joking and laughing.’

‘He just wants everything to be perfect, and while there's nothing inherently wrong with this meglomaniacal edge, sometimes you wish he was able to loosen up a little and enjoy the show like everyone else.’

‘I loosened up a little and settled back into the chair.’

‘As more drinks are consumed, I begin to loosen up.’

‘But as the gig progressed he seemed to loosen up a bit and started making eye contact with audience members, and he flashed a few smiles in various directions.’

‘He seemed quite nervous at first, but loosened up as the gig progressed.’

‘Breathing and bonding exercises follow and as we all got to know each other, loosening up in the Greek heat, we risk the sort of gentle ribaldry and wicked banter that rapidly promotes friendships and constant hilarity.’

‘I had loosened up a bit too and started chatting a lot more freely to more of the other guys.’

‘‘She really loosens up then,’ says her husband smiling as he recalls the stress-free existence they enjoy away from athletics.’

‘In fact, he seems to have loosened up, as if he has less to prove.’

‘She lacks her gift for self-deprecating comedy and she needs to loosen up on screen but she has an engaging manner.’

‘This time, he turned his back on his usual references, loosened up and had great fun with colour and pattern.’